Shadows of the Day
by Kyra Trebon
Summary: HP/Covenant crossover. What happens when Harry is whisked from his world to Ipswich, Massachusetts home of the infamous Sons of Ipswich?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This is just a teaser from a fanfic me and my friend Suiadan are working on together. It's a crossover between Harry Potter and Covenant, and we wanted to get some feedback before we continued/published the entire story. So read and enjoy!

xXx

The sounds of the resumed battle echoed through the Hogwarts corridors. Had this been a different time, Harry would have been aiding his friends and classmates, battling Death Eaters and attempting to avenge the fallen. That's what he should have been doing, he thought bitterly, barely dodging another Killing Curse that had been aimed at his head. A jet of brilliant purple light shot from his wand, as he fired yet another spell at the Dark Lord.

"Poor poor Harry," the snake-like man taunted. "There is no one to help you here. No mummy to protect you, no mudblood friend to give you spells. Why don't you just give up now? I can lead you on the road to greatness, show you power that you have only dreamed of. All you have to do is surrender."

Harry ignored the verbal attack. He had heard the prophecy; he knew that only one of them would make it out alive at the end of this fight. Clenching his teeth, he ran across the open space, ducking behind a stone pillar just in time for the wall in front of him to explode. Pausing only for a moment, he continued half running, half stumbling to the end. On normal circumstances, there would have been a stairwell there, giving him the perfect opportunity to escape. Almost too late he realized that the staircase had already moved, leaving him trapped.

Tightening his grip on his wand, he concentrated on the only place he could think of - Stonehenge. Right as he was concentrating, he felt a cool hand clasp his arm, as he and Voldemort were whisked away. Once again, Harry felt the familiar feeling of being squeezed through an extremely long and narrow tube, crushing his lungs. Just as Harry felt he could not stand the compression, he was thrown onto cool grass, rolling a few feet before hitting his head on a large stone.

Opening his eyes, he looked around a brief moment. Seeing the stirring figure of Voldemort on the ground, he quickly grabbed his wand and got to his feet, sending a Blasting Curse at the figure on the ground. At that exact moment, Voldemort rolled over. It was only a few feet, but the curse that should have killed him, simply blasted him a few hundred feet away. Taking advantage of the momentarily pause in battle; Harry leaned against the nearest stone, bending over from the effort. His magic had never left him exhausted before. Suddenly he craved water and a place to rest; he was too tired to carry on the fight.

It wasnt 'until Voldemort was at the edge of the clearing that Harry noticed he hadn't been killed. Gripping his wand tighter, he rose, meeting the cold, snake-like gaze with one of weariness. For what seemed like an eternity, they both looked at each other, betting on who would attack first. Suddenly, Voldemort smiled. He tilted his head up towards the sky, not once breaking his gaze from Harry. It was Harry who finally looked away, glancing up at the sky. Overhead, the sky had turned from its previous dark shades of black and grey, to an angrier colour of mauve with dark streaks of red cutting through the sky like veins.

From out of the symphony of colours, Harry noticed a streak of yellow coursing through the clouds. It wasn't until it had passed through the last barrier of clouds did Harry see that it was no mere illusion. Gracefully the meteor descended until it was less than a mile up from the clearing where Harry and Voldemort were stationed. Flames emitted from its tail, brandishing multicoloured displays of blue, indigo, orange, gold, and scarlet. As the distance between the boy and the meteor lessened, Harry found it hard to keep his eyes on it, the colours being so bright. Willing up every ounce of energy he had left, he shouted the Banishing Charm he had learned in his fourth year. Crouching down, he looked on helplessly as the meteor drew nearer and nearer, until it was barely ten meters away. Finally, the charm began to work. The meteor changed direction, heading to the nearest possible target-Voldemort.

After casting the nonverbal charm that had summoned the meteor, Voldemort had taken time to pause and admire his handiwork before casting the final spell that would kill Harry. It was almost amusing that after all of the fight put up by this insolent child that he would die so easily, killed by a simple charm. Pathetic really. The boy really thought he could possibly stand a chance against the Greatest Sorcerer in the world. Now it was time to finish him once in for all.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" With a shout he sent a deathly green light blasting towards Harry. At the same time, the snake-like eyes, which had been sparkling with a malevolent glint, now widened at the sight looming before him. The meteor Harry had deflected was now headed straight towards him, with only his small curse in between. His eyes were wide with terror, and every nerve in his body told him to run, yet he stayed firmly planted to the spot. This couldn't be happening! It was his plan, he was the Dark Lord!

It was in slow motion that both Harry and Voldemort watched the collision between the meteor and the Killing Curse. Harry, thought extremely exhausted, managed to cast a small, but powerful Shield Charm in the few moments he had. Voldemort, however, just stood there gaping at the sight. As if a timer had gone off, all of a sudden the Earth was filled with an enormous shock wave that rippled across the landscape from the point of impact.

The last thing Harry remembered was seeing Voldemort blasted away among a mix of dirt and debris before everything went black.

xXx

Caleb Danvers awoke with a start, his chest heaving. There it was again. The last time he had felt the tug of the Power, it had been Chase using it to get revenge. He thought it was all over, after he had ascended and defeated Chase. This though, felt a thousand times stronger. Keeping still for a few moments, he slowly let his breathing return to normal, his eyes scanning every inch of the dark room, as if waiting for something to appear out of the darkness. His eyes confirmed that he was alone in the large room.

"It's nothing," he told himself, attempting to go back to sleep. "Probably just a nightmare or Reid and them using again." Somehow, he knew neither one was the case. Thoughts racing, he quickly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He had to call the guys.

Just as he reached towards the side table where he kept his cell phone, it came to life and buzzed beneath his outstretched hand. The vibration shocked Caleb, who flinched at the movement. Annoyed, he shook his head and grabbed the cell, not bothering to check the Caller ID before answering.

"Yeah?" he answered, running a hand through his close-cropped hair.

It was Pogue. "Caleb, look something weird is going on. I was just awakened by a sound sleep. Someone's using, and big time.." He would have continued had Caleb not cut him off.

"I know, it woke me up too." Both boys were silent for a moment.

"Could he be back?" Pogue's words hung in the hair like smoke.

"No way. After what happened last time, there is no way Chase made it out of there alive. And anyway, it was stronger than that. He hasn't ascended yet." Caleb sighed and hung his head. There seemed to be no explanation for it.

"Well dude, you are the only one of us that has ascended, what were you doing?"

Caleb exploded. "No way! You know what happened to my father, I would never do anything that stupid." Jumping to his feet, he walked towards the window. The sky was an unusual mauve colour, with lines of red occasionally streaking through it. Unusual, but then again, this was New England, anything having to do with weird weather was possible. Fuming, he banged his fist against the windowpane. "It wasn't me," he said again, his voice cold.

"Hey, take it easy!" Pogue cried, his voice getting louder from the cell. I didn't say it was you, but you are the only one of us that has ascended. Who else could it have been?"

Still fuming, Caleb remained silent.

"Okay, look. Let's get the guys together and go take a look around, see what's going on. Chances are they felt it too."

Grudgingly, Caleb agreed, making mental note to hit Pogue later. Grabbing a shirt from the closet, he quickly dressed, running a comb through his hair, before exiting. Once downstairs, he grabbed an orange out of the basket sitting on the counter. Then, taking one last look around, he ran out the back door.

xXx

**A/N: **So what did you think? Should we continue the story? Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I hadn't planned on updating for a veeerrryyyy long time, but was convinced otherwise by all of the reviews, etc that I got. To answer a question posed by two people, right now I don't plan for slash or any parings really in the story. It may change later depending on my co-writer, but if you ask me nicely I might consider it. :-)**

The four of them met at the catacomb underneath Caleb's family house. Ever since his dad has passed away and Gorman had come to take care of his mom, the house had remained empty. Since he had been the first one there, Caleb cleared away a few of the cobwebs, and pushed open the door. The inside of the abandoned building was pitch black, and it took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust. Even then it was pretty hard to make out anything except basic shapes.

Taking a few steps forward, Caleb swore loudly as his knee hit a chair. After a deep breath, he continued, only to hit another piece of furniture.

_Screw this _Caleb thought, his eyes turning charcoal. All at once, the room was filled with light from what seemed like a hundred candles. It was a tad much, but then again, it was better than stumbling through the darkness and running into things. Leave it to his father to have everything unorganized.

Crossing the large room, he took a chance to look around, though only a few months had passed since the house had been occupied; it looked as if it hadn't been touched in centuries. A cruel joke, he thought bitterly, remembering the last state his father had been in. Shaking his head, he took one look back before stepping in front of the basement door. Opening it, he quickly ran down the stairs, leaving it open for his friends. A long time ago, it had been fun going though the little obstacle course to get to their hideout. Now it was just a nuisance.

At the bottom of the stairwell, he made a quick left, and turned almost a full 180. There, underneath the staircase was an old stone door. It took up a big portion of the wall, with it ending just underneath the middle of the staircase. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the outside edge of the door and pushed. The ancient stone, not willing to move, was resistant against his force.

"Let me help you with that." The voice came from right behind Caleb, and he jumped. Spinning around, he came face to face with Tyler.

"What the hell!" Caleb shouted, leaning against the stone door. "Dude, why did you have to go and sneak up on me?"

"Sorry," Tyler said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not alone though. Reid and Pogue are upstairs, I think." It was just then the two of them heard footsteps directly above them.

"Speak of the devils." The footsteps continued down the stairs, until two heads appeared.

"Thought I heard someone down here," Reid said, his long blonde hair partially covering his face. Seeing Tyler, his grin widened into a mischievous smirk. "Dude, where the hell were you last night? There was a huge party over at Nicky's. I called your cell a few times but you never picked up. You wouldn't have believed the shit that went down when-"

"Reid, Tyler, would it kill you to please focus?" Caleb asked, grabbing the edge of the stone door once again. "Pogue and I called you guys for a reason. Earlier we sensed someone using. Big time." He glanced around waiting for some type of reacion, but was disappointed by the lack of one.

"How do you know?" Tyler finally asked, his glance darting from Caleb to Pogue. "I mean, who could it have been? Do you think Chase is back?"

"There is no way it was Chase. For one thing, he couldn't have come back. And anyway, this was way stronger. Whoever it was this time is hundreds of times stronger than Chase ever was."

Caleb's words were once again met with silence. "Guys, come on. Help me get this open and we can talk down there."

The three others quickly stepped over, and with their combined effort, opened the door. Reid waved his hand, and instantly the candles along the steep stone staircase were lit. Caleb rolled his eyes and led the way down.

"What if it is Chase?" Tyler asked, a little apprehensive. "I mean, if what you said about the strength was true, then he could be worse than before."

"It is true," Reid commented, pausing along the staircase. "I felt it too. At first I thought it was just a hangover from the party or something, but it was powerful. And then I got a call from Pogue."

Caleb nodded, reaching the last bend. He paused, grabbing the edge of the stone wall for support. "Guys, whatever is going on, we need to figure it out. All of us, no matter what it takes."

He looked around, meeting the eyes of the other three. One by one they all nodded solemnly. "Good,"he said, turning around. His thoughts were elsewhere, and it took a moment to register what he saw. In the middle of the catacomb, lying on the table where the Book of Damnation usually was, lay the figure of an unconscious boy.

Caleb stopped dead in his tracks, causing Pogue, Tyler, and Reid to do the same.

"Who the hell is that?" Reid finally asked, staring in disbelief at the motionless figure on the table. For a moment, no one answered, each one trying to put into words what they saw before them.

Without a word, Caleb slowly made his way over to the boy, taking slow, careful steps. He looked close to their age, if only a year or two younger. Halting, Caleb slowly brought two fingers to the boy's next. Though faint, there was a slight pulse.

"He's alive," Caleb announced, turning back to the others. One by one, they filed into the chamber, repeating the slow steps taken by Caleb.

"I repeat, who the hell is that?" Reid asked, getting closer to the center of the room. He took a long glance at the boy, and then retreated to the side to sit down.

"More importantly," Pogue interjected, "How did he get here?" He looked around at each of the guys. "You guys didn't tell anyone about this place?" he asked accusingly. His question was followed by a chorus of no ways, and shaking of heads.

All were silent for a few moments, and then Tyler spoke up, looking directly at Caleb. "Guys, think about it. Caleb and Pogue both felt someone using-"

"Hey! I felt it to!" Reid protested. "I just didn't feel like mentioning it earlier." Pogue shot him a nasty look, and he immediately quieted.

"Whatever. Look, am I the only one who sees this? First you guys felt someone was using, and then this stranger that no one has seen before shows up in our secret catacombs that no one outside of our families know about? Come on, isn't it obvious? It has to be him!" He looked around anxiously.

"Tyler, that isn't a bad idea but.." Caleb began, running a hand through his hair.

"Dumbass, there is no way in hell they are connected," Reid cut in, standing up. "Do you hear how moronic you sound right now?" He moved behind Tyler, grabbed him by the hair, and pushed his head down.

"It does sound unlikely," Caleb agreed, sending a glare over at Reid. "I mean, we know the identities of every single descendant of the Power. It is pretty farfetched that we wouldn't know someone who had it. And anyway, all of the first-born sons accounted for. There is no possible way he could be one of us."

Tyler shook free of Reid's grasp, hung his head, and shuffled to the edge of the room. _Yeah, they're right_ he thought to himself, sitting on the stone steps. _I do sound like a dumbass._

x.X.x.

Harry's head hurt. Actually all of him hurt, but the first thing he noticed was a solid pounding in his head. Groaning softly, he attempted to move his arm, but to no avail. All he was able to do was move a few fingers. They were immediately met with an unfamiliar feeling.

_Is that..stone?_ he wondered, his fingers brushing against it. Briefly, he thought back, wincing at the thought of Voldemort, the snake-like face flashing in front of his eyes. A sudden fresh burst of terror filled him, and he clenched his fingers reflexively. Attempting to ignore the feeling, he pushed it to the back of his mind, focusing instead on where he was currently. Revisiting his thoughts, he remembered the battle at Stonehenge.

_Well, that would explain the stone._ he reasoned to himself. Suddenly it all made sense. When he had repelled the meteor, it must have collided with a spell shot by Voldemort, or hit the ground or something. The impact must have knocked him out cold, and he landed on one of the stones. That also would explain his pounding headache. He must have been hit by a piece of flying debris.

That's when he heard the voices. At first they had been far away and extremely muffled, but as the minutes passed they became increasingly louder. As they did, he was able to distinguish the differences between the pitches and tones. All in all, there seemed to be around four different guys nearby. But what were they doing here? From what he last remembered, no one had been around when Harry had Apparated there. Still puzzling over that, he listened closely.

Harry was only able to understand a few words here and there, and none of what he heard made any sense. They were talking about some power, and about being the first born sons of something. The more he listened, the more confused he got. Who were these people? And who was the 'he' they were talking about? Did they mean him? Only one thing was certain, he wasn't about to stick around and find out.

Ignoring the searing pain, he attempted to rise, despite the silent protest of his body. He had long since run out of energy, and was getting past the point of running on pure adrenaline. Moving his hand, he quickly sucked in a breath, feeling the stings of a thousand needles attack his nerves. Biting his lip, he attempted to ignore it, and instead worked on moving his legs. After only a few minutes of the muted agony, he had only moved about an inch.

_At this rate_ he reasoned, _They'll kill me before I get a foot._ Immediately he cursed himself for thinking that. His thoughts flashed briefly to Hermione, and her consistent attempt to get him to look on the bright side of things. For a brief moment he was cheered thinking of his friend, but that feeling quickly faded, and was replaced by anger. Here he was lying down and not doing anything, while she and the others were back at Hogwarts, fighting Bellatrix, Greyback, and the Death Eaters. He should be there with them, fighting back and protecting the Order. Instead he was here, hiding like a coward. It was disgusting.

Harry pushed the thoughts aside, and instead tried to focus concentrating his anger on moving. Fueled by the anger, he was able to move himself into a sitting position, his legs over the side of the stone, resting on the floor. He took a moment to briefly study his surroundings, surprised at what he saw.

The large stones and green fields were gone, now replaced by a stone room, about twenty-six feet in diameter. The walls were covered in candles, evidence of their past use dripping down the sides and onto the wall. Normally he wasn't one for candles, seeing as how they usually didn't provide much light, but here it was a different story. Dozens of them illuminated the room, giving off an eerie aura that penetrated into all but the darkest of corners. The flames also illuminated the stone seats that were in the room, attached to the wall. Continuing to look around, he discovered that the entire room was circular, and seemed to surround the stone he was sitting on. Directly in front of him was the beginnings of large stone steps, and it was there he saw the ones talking.

Thankfully they hadn't seen him yet. As silent as he could, he slithered over to the far side of the stone, away from them and stood up. The four guys were too engrossed in their argument to notice anything. Perfect. He quickly moved behind the nearest stone pillar, successfully hiding himself from view of both the guys and the candles. Crouching down, he lifted his right pant leg, just enough to allow him to grab the item strapped to his leg. Despite having lost his wand, he wasn't completely helpless.

x.X.x

"Now that that's done, can we please figure out who the hell that guy is and get out of here?" Reid asked impatiently, leaning against the stone staircase. He was still slightly hungover from the party last night, and all he wanted to go was go back to bed.

"For once in his life Reid's right," Caleb said, receiving a nasty glare from the former. "We do need to figure out who he is, and how he got here."

"But what about the person we felt using?" Pogue asked, crossing his arms. "We still need to find them and figure out what's going on."

"Well right now I think this is more important," Caleb pressed. "We need to figure out who he is, what he knows, and how the hell he got down here. Who knows, maybe Tyler is right, maybe he was the source of the power we felt."

Pogue interrupted angrily, "But we don't know that. We don't even have a way of knowing that. For all we know he could be some drunk who stumbled down here and passed out. We will waste time trying to figure out who he is, instead of going to look for who really was using."

"Well even if he is, I still want to know for sure." Caleb replied.

"Fine." Pogue grumbled. He turned around as he spoke. "But I'm telling you this is a huge waste of-" His next words were cut off. "Umm Caleb, I think there's one flaw in your plan."

Caleb walked past Pogue, his thoughts racing. Stopping in front of one of the stone pillars, he looked at him. "Dude, what is it?" he asked.

"Look."

Caleb turned to look down onto the stone table. It was empty. For a moment he was speechless. "Uh oh," he said, unable to form any other words. Just at that moment he felt the pressure of cool metal against his neck.

"Uh oh is right," a voice whispered behind him. Caleb went to turn around, to see who it was, when he felt a hand tighten on his shoulder and the dagger pressed harder against his neck.

"Come on Reid, stop fooling around. We need to focus," he said. When there was no reply, he glanced over at Pogue. One look was all it took to realize it wasn't either one of them.

x.X.x

Harry didn't really have a plan past this point. His target, Caleb, seemed to be the leader of the group, and therefore the most valuable target. Gripping the blade even tighter, he took a couple steps sideways, so he was visible just over his hostage's right shoulder. Perfect. He glanced around at the other three in the room, enjoying the look of astonishment and shock on their faces. Finally it was time he was in control.

For a brief second, he noticed a change in his victim, almost like a strength was coming into him that he hadn't had before. The next thing Harry knew he was blasted into the air, flying well over 20 feet into the opposite wall. Just before crashing, he was able to perform a wandless cushioning charm to break his fall. Just in time, for a second later he crashed into the stone wall. Had it not been for the charm, he surely would have been knocked out; even now the sheer force of the impact had affected him. He looked across the room at Caleb; his eyes were black as night.

"That's new," he muttered trying to catch his breath. Sensing that no bones were broken, he quickly got to his feet, using the wall for a few handholds He had lost his blade during the flight, but he didn't need it. Before they could register what he was doing, he muttered, "Diffindo!" while gesturing his right hand in one of the guy's general direction. He seemed to be second in command, and not too bad a target. Just as he intended, the Severing Charm cut a nasty gash in the guy's right shoulder. Blood seeped through his shirt, and he let out a cry similar to that of a wounded animal. Instead of turning to help him, Caleb, his eyes still black, shot off what Harry could only assume to be a mass of electrical energy towards him. Quickly he leapt to the side just barely missing the full force of the attack. Just then he noticed the wounded one, his eyes now black as well, fire the same sort of energy. Harry rolled a few feet to the side, coming to rest just behind one of the stone pillars. The pillar shook with the aftershocks of the blast, and Harry found himself apprehensive about what they would try next.

Using magic was out of the picture for him. He had felt it before when he had cast the Severing Charm, the early feeling of magical exhaustion. He had to be very selective about using what he had left. It wasn't worth wasting it here when all he had to do was dodge the attacks. They couldn't keep this up forever. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a third guy, his eyes also black, advance a few feet so Harry was directly in his line of sight. He too fired the ball of energy, and Harry only had a second to dodge. Pushing off with his feet, he landed in one of the little alcoves that were common around the chamber. He looked around for another place to run, but he was trapped.

Glancing forward, he smirked slightly, as if asking to be hit again. Caleb and the wounded one both shot the energy blasts at the same time, aiming right towards Harry. Even under the best of circumstances one was hard to dodge, two was even worse, and it didn't help that he was trapped in a self-made prison. Harry swore loudly. He had planned on using his magic sparingly, hopefully not needing to use it completely. But this was a different circumstance.

x.X.x.

There was no way Caleb was going to miss this one. Though Pogue was wounded, he was also able to fire off a pulse blast the same time Caleb had. The idiot had backed himself into a corner when he dodged a blast from Tyler, and there was nowhere for him to run. He smirked, allowing the pleasure only found by seeking revenge seep through him. This idiot had held a blade to his throat, and expected to get away with it? Yes, he thought while smirking, he was definitely going to enjoy this. Then, he blinked and the guy was gone, like he had just vanished.

The two pulse blasts hit the wall at the same time, causing the whole structure to shudder violently. All four of them froze.

"What the hell was that?" Tyler half whispered, casting anxious glances at Pogue and Caleb. Swallowing nervously, he looked back to the spot where the guy had vanished. No one answered, and for the span of a few minutes a curtain of silence fell over the group.

Reid was the first one to speak. "Well that is just fan-freakin-tastic. First he finds this place, then he threatens Caleb, he sees us using, hurts Pogue, and finally he vanishes. Perfect," he spat bitterly, walking over to the closest stone seat. He sat down heavily, resting his elbows on his knees, head bent towards the floor. "He'll tell everyone what he saw. The secrecy that our families have been keeping for generations will be revealed. All because Caleb thought we should interrogate the bastard."

"Well what should have we done?" Caleb retorted angrily, glaring at Reid's slouched form. "If I recall, you didn't protest after he attacked Pogue and I. How the hell was I supposed to know that he'd disappear! What do you think because I was the first to ascend I can read freakin' minds or something?" Still fuming, he walked over to the alcove and punched the wall. The hard rock held steady under his fist, but the slight pain upon impact felt good. Angrily he punched it again and again, until his hand began throbbing. Taking a deep breath, he leaned against the cool stone, attempting to come up with some sort of plan.

"One thing is sure, we have to find him."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long with the update. My laptop died for lack of a better word, and so I had to almost write this whole chapter again. Then came school and theatre, so basically this kinda slipped my mind. Hopefully I'll be better at updating from now on. **

.x.X.x.

That morning was bright. Cheery sunshine shone down from the azure blue sky on the sleepy little town of Ipswich, bathing everything in a warm, golden glow. In the center of town lay the imposing brick structures of Spenser Academy. Few students were out on the bright Saturday morning, the ones that were seemed in no hurry. Most were dressed in the traditional school uniform of khaki pants, white shirt, and a dark blue wool blazer, but those few that were lucky enough not to have classes that morning were dressed more casually in jeans and t-shirts.

"I still don't understand why Pogue would act like that though," came a voice. Two girls walked side by side along one of the campus's many pathways heading into town, both with small shoulder bags.

"Pogue's always jealous," the dark haired girl said, brushing a strand of hair from her face, "You should know that by now."

"Yeah, but come on, you know how much you two care for each other."

"Yeah, I know Sarah...but sometimes I wish he remembered that too."

Sarah stopped, looking up towards the sky, sighing. "It's such a beautiful day, don't you think?" she asked, closing her eyes. Her golden hair shining brightly in the golden sunlight, giving the girl an almost angelic glow.

Her bag dropped from her shoulder and hung just above the ground, suspended in her pale fingers.

"Yeah. Good thing our exams are done. Can you imagine being stuck English Lit. on a day like this?"

"Mmmm."

.x.X.x.

The darkness that had previously engulfed Harry disappeared as quickly as it had came. He opened his eyes at the shock, and immediately regretting it as he recoiled from the bright sunlight.

Groaning in pain, he used a hand to cover his eyes. He got up, using the brick walls on either side of the alleyway for support he started making his way forward. Half staggering-half stumbling, he made his way out of the alley, his hand covering his eyes. All too soon the brick wall ended and he felt his hand grasp empty air. Almost losing his balance, he used the hand covering his eyes to reach out to grab something-anything. Feeling nothing, he winced again as the bright sunlight attacked his sensitive eyes. Squeezing them shut, he kept moving, trying to find anything he could get his hands on for balance. He had still been half-blinded from the first glance of light, and the second hit only made it worse. Taking another step, he tripped as his ankle found the edge of a curb.

His first reaction was that he hit something soft, his second was he was still falling. Removing his hand from his eyes, he used both to break his fall. Scraping his palms against the sidewalk, he felt two bodies hit the ground next to him. His head hit next, bouncing off the ground like a rubber ball. Goaning at the sudden burst of pain, he attempted to roll onto his side, but was stopped by a body already occupying that space. He felt the person shift, possibly even get up, and rolled onto his side. Using his back to block out some of the sunshine, he gingerly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was two colours; blonde and black. As his fuzzy vision started to clear, he was able to make out the faces of what appeared to be two girls leaning over him. One seemed to be glowing in the light with slightly tanned skin and blonde hair. The other, who seemed more in shock then anything, had dark skin and hair to match. He blinked a few times, thinking that this was simply a hallucination and would go away.

"Are you okay?" the blonde-haired girl asked, brushing a strand away from her eyes.

Harry attempted a nod, wincing at the movement. Feeling a sharp pain on the back of his head, he slowly rose his arm and reached behind to touch the back of his head. The contact sent another shock of pain through him, but he was more concerned with the other sense he recieved. Taking a deep breath, he slowly brought his hand out from behind his head, and stared at the crimson liquid glittering in the morning sun.

He heard someone gasp, and looked up in time to see the dark haired girl recoil. Letting out a small groan, he tried to ignore the queasy feeling coming from his stomach.

"You're bleeding," the blonde said again, ignoring that she was stating the obvious. Looking back towards her friend, she gave an annoyed sigh. "Kate, come on, it's just a little blood."

Kate shook her head, still remaining a few feet away.

Turning back to Harry, the blonde gave a soft smile. "She's kinda squeamish when it comes to stuff like that."

Harry nodded. "I understand. My friend Ron hates the sight of blood too. He nearly fainted once after seeing my scrape my arm." This remard earned a laugh, and he chuckled too at the memory. "Name's Harry by the way," he said, finally remembering to introduce himself.

"I'm Sarah," the girl replied. "And that's Kate."

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"Likewise," There was silence for a second before Sarah spoke again. "Here, why don't you come with us and get cleaned up. No offense, but you look like you've seen better days. And you should get that scrape on your head cleared up." Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed his arm.

With Sarah's help he got to his feet, he took a tentitive step forward, then cringed as it felt as though soneone was stabbing his foot with a red hot fireiron. "I think my ankle is sprained", he said. Sarah was immediately at his side, and wound herself under his arm before he could say more.

"We can help you walk back," she said, flashing him a quick smile. He felt his other arm shift and turned to see Kate supporting him as well. She nodded to confirm Sarah's statement.

"And I can get you some clothes to change into," she finished. He nodded a silent thanks and the trio quickly made their way towards the dorms.

.x.X.x.

"What's up with her?"

They had been inside for a few minute now, and Kate had just left to get the clothes. He figited impatiently on the bed, his legs dangling off the end.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked from behind him. Though she had heard what Harry said, her attention was focused on the gash on his head which she was dabbing every so often with a damp washcloth.

"It's just that, she seems distracted," he finished lamely.

"Don't worry about it. She and Pogue are just having some issues."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah. Insanely jealous"

"Like stalker jealous?"

"No, more overly-paranoid jealous. He's a good guy, but can get kind of annoying at times."

"Ahhhh." They were silent for a moment.

"And, done," Sarah said, with a triumphant edge in her vioce. She moved backwards a few inches, admiring her handiwork. "Once I got all the blood wiped up, the scratch wasn't so bad. I'd say it'll heal within a couple week, month at most." It was then they heard a knock at the door.

"Hey, can you guys let me in?" a female voice called from the hallway.

Sarah laughed and went to open the door. "What? Forget your key?" she teased.

Kate entered the room, a small bundle of clothes in her arms. "Ha ha very funny." Then, turning towards Harry, she dumped the load into his lap. "There. Shirt, jeans, socks, sneakers, jacket, etc. I think they're about your size."

Harry nodded, grateful to get out the bloody, dirt-stained clothes he currently had on. Standing, he limped slowly to the small bathroom in the room. The pain made him briefly recollect back to his second year at Hogwarts. He had spent much time regrowing the bones in his arm. A simple spraine would have been no match for Madame Pomfrey. Sighing, he pushed the thoughts of his old life behind and began to undress.

He emerged a few minute later, holding his previously worn clothes. "Um...what do I do with these?" he asked, indicating the pile in his hands.

Sarah, now once again sitting on her bed, handed him a plastic bag. "You can keep them in our room for now," she said, as Harry starting stuffing them in. "Just throw them in the corner or something."

Harry did so, sitting down next to Sarah when he was finished. "Thanks again," he said, glancing at each of the girls. "For helping me."

"No problem," Kate replied, smiling.

"Yeah," Kate chimed in. "And besides, we could just ignore you. Especially after you knocked us to the ground."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. That would have been kinda difficult."

Just then the shrill ring of Sarah's cell went off. "Hey Caleb," she said, mouthing a silent 'sorry' to Harry. He shrugged, smiling at an eye roll from Kate.

"Oh, that stinks," Kate said into the phone. "Are you sure you can't? Oh okay. Yeah dinner at Nikki's sounds good. Love you too. Bye."

Snapping the phone shut, she gave a small sigh. "The guys can't meet us for lunch Kate," she told her friend. "Apparently something came up. They said to meet them at Nikki's tonight though."

Without warning, Sarah grabbed Harry's arm. "Come on," she said. "Why don't you come with us. We can catch some lunch and then go shopping."

Harry shrugged. Gingery he stood up, keeping most of his weight off his bad ankle.

"Here, don't forget this," Kate said, handing him the worn leather jacket she had brought him. Though both she and Sarah were in short sleeve shirts, he had a slight chill despite the warm day, and was grateful for the jacket.

.x.X.x.

The trio made their way into town slowly, leisurely strolling in the golden sunlight. They made light conversation, and often lapsed into a comfortable silence as each was involved in their own thoughts. It was not long after that they reached the central hub of Ipswitch.

Almost the ideal New England town, the center of town was a bustling hub with shops centered around the main street. The sidewalks and shops were bustling with customers, making purchases, as well as catching up with one another. Another pang of homesickness shot through Harry, along with memories of Diagon Alley and shopping for school supplies with his friends.

A tug at his arm pulled him away from his daydream. "Come on," Sarah said, tugging at his sleeve. "The cafe is just over here."

He followed her and Kate into the bustling center. All too soon his attention was lost as he passed the shop windows and looked inside. Only Sarah's grip on his sleeve kept him from stopping every few feet.

They quickly got to the small restaurant, and it wasn't long before they were sitting outside, looking through the menu.

"Know what you want Harry," Kate asked, looking up.

"Not really," Harry admitted.

"Try the roast beef sandwich," Sarah chimed in. "I've heard it's really good."

Harry was about to agree when a commotion came from the sidewalk.

"What the hell?"

It was Pogue.

**A/N: Like the slight cliff? Pokes the review button innocently......**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own the characters...but the idea is half mine :-)**

**A/N: Okay, now I don't really have any excuse for not updating for five months. All I can say is that I have school and theatre, and honestly I lost interest in this for awhile. Thankfully so many reviews got my interest back. **

_"What the hell?"_

_It was Pogue._

Kate and Sarah leaped to their feet immediately. "Pogue, what are you doing-" Kate began, but she was cut off.

"Who is this guy?" Pogue yelled, striding up to the table. Grabbing Harry by the jacket, he yanked him to his feet. "Kate, what the hell is going on? Is this mine?" He gripped Harry's shoulders and shook him hard.

Harry groaned at the quick movement, feeling the pressure increase on his bad ankle. He could feel it building up as the shaking continued. Just as he was about to scream, he felt the hands let go, and he fell back into his chair. Wincing, he closed his eyes focusing on releasing the pain throughout his body. It was a trick Sirus had taught him the summer after his fourth year. He felt another pang of sadness, remembering the memory of his Godfather, and one of the few times they had enjoyed together.

The pain soon faded to a dull throb, and he opened his eyes. He could see Kate arguing with the guy who had screamed at them from the sidewalk. It took him a minute to register what they were saying, but as he focused, the dialogue became clearer.

"God Pogue, how can you be so freakin paranoid? I'm not dating him!" Kate said, her face flushed with anger.

"Oh yeah, then why are you having lunch with him, without telling me?"

"Sarah and I ran into him on our way to town. He needed help, so we cleaned him up a bit. Then we invited him to go shopping with us. What, is being nice to a stranger a crime now?"

"Maybe it should be. For all you know he's a serial killer or something!"

Harry would have listened more, but his evesdropping was interrupted by Sarah. "Are you okay?" she asked, standing in front of him. He nodded, giving her a quick smile.

"Yeah. It takes a lot more than a little shaking to knock me down," he joked. "Is that the guy you were talking about before, in your room?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yeah that's him."

"You weren't exaggerating when you said he was paranoid jealous."

Her next words were lost to Harry as he looked over her shoulder. His eyes widened as he studied the guy Kate was fighting with. No, he wasn't mistaken. Though the clothes were different, and he didn't have the look of enhaustion on his face as before, it was obvious he was one of the four that had attacked him the night before. He felt his face pale, and his muscles tense before he realized Sarah was shaking him.

"Harry! Harry, are you okay?" the girl asked, a look of concern etched on her face.

Harry blinked twice. "What!? Yeah." he replied. "I guess I just zoned out for a minute."

"You sure? You look like you've seen a ghost." Just then, Kate stormed back towards them. She was clearly upset, her face flushed, eyes brimming with a mix of tears and anger. Without looking up, she flopped down into her chair and rested her head in her hands. Behind her, Harry saw a motorbike ride away down the street.

"What is wrong with him?" she asked, shaking her head back and forth. "I don't get it."

Moving their chairs, Harry and Sarah orientated themselves to be on either side of the girl.

"He's just....troubled," Sarah muttered, rubbing small circles on Kate's back with her hand. "You didn't do anything."

"Kate, I am so sorry," Harry interjected. "I wasn't trying to cause trouble. I didn't mean-"

"No Harry, it wasn't you fault," Kate replied, looking up at him. She wiped her eyes with her hand and sighed. "Pogue is just..."

"Jealous?" Harry finished.

"Yeah."

Just then, a waiter interrupted them. "Are we ready to order?" she asked, looking down at the trio.

"Um..." Harry began, ready to ask for a few minutes.

"Yes, actually, we're all set." Kate interrupted, pulling the menu from under Harry's arm. "I'll have the veggie wrap with fries please."

Sarah glanced at Kate before placing her order as well. "Um. The roast beef sandwich please."

"Same," Harry added.

They finished their order quickly, and lapsed into silence until the food came. It wasn't until his first bite that Harry realized how hungry he actually was.

"You guys weren't kidding when you said the roast beef was good," he said, breaking the silence. The change in subject seemed to shake Kate out of her mood, and they soon were chatting cheerfully.

x.X.x.

"So you just moved here?" Harry asked Sarah. A few hours had passed since their encounter at the cafe, and since then they had been shopping. Harry had soon gotten homesick, the memories of shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley with his friends had come back to him with a vengeance. But as the day went on, he started to enjoy the experience.

"Yeah, this past fall," she replied, picking up a book. Scanning the title, she pulled out a list from her bag. "Check."

"Where did you go before?"

"Oh, just a public school in Boston. Nothing too special."

"Couldn't have been that bad."

"You didn't go there."

They moved down the racks, scanning the titles of books, trying to find the ones on their class list. The small bookshop wasn't busy, but they had a hard time maneuvering around the numerous bookshelves. Dark ebony wood was visible in the small spaces that were not occupied by shelves, continuing down to the well-worn floor. In contrast, the shelves themselves were a black metal color. Harry grabbed a book off the shelf and flipped through it. It was a book on witches and wizards. He chuckled quietly to himself as he flipped through it; he had forgotten how wrong the Muggles were about them.

"What's so funny?" Kate asked, coming up behind him.

Startled, Harry dropped the book, causing it to land on the floor with a muffled bang. "Kate! Sorry you..."

"Scared you?" She picked up the book. "Wizards. Hmmm. You into all that magic stuff?"

"No, not really. Just saw it and thought it looked somewhat interesting. You?"

"Meh, not really my thing. Pity you aren't though. There's a ton of 'supernatural' history around here. Ask Sarah, she was into it for awhile."

"Ask Sarah what?" Sarah said, turning down the aisle.

"I was just telling Harry to ask you about the ghost lore around here. You know, the magic stuff you were into during the fall."

"Oh, yeah. It was nothing though, just something to read."

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence for a minute.

"So, you guys got everything?" Harry asked, trying to change the subject.

"What? Yeah. Sarah, did you grab a copy of Great Expectations?" Kate said, searching through the stack of books in her arms.

Sarah did the same. "No, that wasn't on my list," she replied, shrugging apologetically. "I might have a copy back in our room though."

x.X.x.

The rest of the day passed by quickly as the trio finished their shopping, and it wasn't long before they were once again on the path back to campus. The mid-afternoon sun had just began dipping behind the trees, causing much of the wooded path to lie in shadow. Unsurprisingly, they were the only ones on the path.

"Thanks again for helping us carry our bags Harry," Sarah said, giving him a warm smile.

"It's not a problem, you helped me earlier." Harry replied. "Besides, these aren't heavy. I've carried a lot worse."

"So, are you coming to Nikki's with us tonight?" Kate asked, shifting the weight of her bags to her other arm.

"Nikki's?"

"Just a local bar. You know, dancing, pool, music, food, etc. A bunch of us are meeting up there tonight. You in?"

"Sure I guess. As long as you don't mind me haning around."

"Of course we don't mind. Besides, you can meet the guys." Sarah replied.

Harry shrugged. "Okay, I'm in."

**A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter, but the next scene will be quite action-packed and I didn't want to leave you in the middle of it. **

**Thankfully school is over in a month, so I'll definitely be writing and updating more and more often (only two summer classes!!!). **

***looks amused at the review button***


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello again. My it has been awhile hasn't it. Honestly, I have no idea. My inspiration comes and goes and for a long time this was just never on the radar. Thankfully my ideas are once again flowing and I know exactly where I want to go for this story...sorta. And thanks to all that reviewed, it's really nice finding those in my inbox. **

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and before he knew it, Harry was in the car on the way to Nikki's. He had won the call for shotgun and was waiting as Sarah and Kate debated on the music.

"I told you, I hate country!" Kate protested.

"But it's my car."

"So? Technically it was my room before you showed up."

Harry tried to hide his amusement, but Kate heard his laughter.

"Fine, Mr. Know-It-All. What do you suggest?"

Harry shrugged, having little knowledge of American music. "Um. We could try the radio," he suggested hesitantly.

That seemed to end the argument. Kate reached from her place in the backseat to turn on the radio. "I love this song!" she exclaimed, after flipping through a few stations. They didn't talk much through the drive; the time instead spent singing along with the radio, both girls often making fun of Harry for not knowing any of the songs.

"Where're you from anyway?" Sarah asked as another song finished.

"Yeah. You don't sound like the weirdoes around here."

Harry froze. He could tell him that he was a wizard. "Um," he began, frantically thinking of something to say. "I was born in England. My parents were killed when I was small by a serial killer, so now I live with my aunt an uncle."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kate said, giving him a squeeze through the seat. "Was their – killer ever caught?"

Harry shook his head. "No. They thought they had him, but he escaped before he could be brought to justice."

"Oh." Sarah was silent for a moment. "Why did your aunt and uncle send you here?"

Harry shrugged. "My aunt is my mom's sister, but they never got along. I think this was their way of getting rid of me, but legally." Well, it was mostly true.

The girls were silent. "So, tell me about Nikki's," Harry said, desperate to change the subject. The rest of the car ride passed pretty uneventfully, as he listened to the girls talk about the bar. Before long they were there.

"So who are we meeting?" Harry asked, leaning against the car as the girls got their bags.

"Just the usual – Caleb, Tyler, Reid…Pogue."

"You mean the guy from earlier?"

Kate bit her lip nervously. "Yeah. They have this thing together, they always hang out. Their families are old friends and it just passed to them."

Harry felt a weird pang in his stomach, but he didn't pay attention. This guy was too important. "But that guy – Pogue – he's the same one that hurt Kate."

Sarah started to say something, but Kate cut her off. "Pogue – he's not like most guys. He's great, really, but every so often he gets really jealous. It'll pass in a few days."

"But he made you cry! He tried to hurt you! He –"

"Harry, don't worry about it. This has happened before. Pogue gets really upset for awhile, and then he goes back to normal. It's his thing."

Harry frowned. "Fine, I'll take your word. But if he tries to hurt you – even if you say it's fine, I make no promises on how I react."

Kate gave a small smile. "Aww, thanks Harry, you're sweet."

"Come on. Caleb just texted me, they're already inside." Sarah said, pulling on Harry's arm. She led them into the crowded restraint.

"How can you find anyone in here?" Harry yelled over the loud music and voices.

"We have a usual table," she replied, still pulling them through the crowd. "We come here a lot."

She led them through groups of people, most of them smelling of sweat and alcohol. Finally they broke through the crowd to find a couple small tables pushed together in the middle of the floor. The table itself was littered with half-empty glasses and baskets of fries, onion rings, and nachos. But Harry noticed none of this. His attention was focused on the four boys slouched in the chairs around the table. It was the guys from the crypt. They were back.

"Nice for you to wait for us," Sarah teased, reaching behind Caleb to hug him. She sat down on one of the chairs, Kate following, making sure to choose a chair not directly near Pogue. Only Harry stood, his hands tensing into fists. Caleb noticed too.

"Who's your friend Sarah?" he asked, his eyes locking with Harry's. The other boys looked up at the stranger, their faces hardening when the realized who it was.

"Oh sorry. Everyone, this is Harry. We met him this morning on campus."

"Nice to meet you Harry," Caleb said through clenched teeth. He couldn't do anything here. Too many witnesses. Besides, the girls would get upset.

Reid didn't seem to get the message. "What! How? What the fuck are you doing here?" he sputtered. He quickly stood up, spilling food and drinks everywhere.

"Reid, what are you doing?" Kate asked him, trying to get away from a large puddle of soda quickly spreading towards her.

"Reid, stop," Caleb said, pulling the boy down.

"But Caleb," Reid began.

"I know who he is, but we have to wait. I don't think Sarah and Kate would appreciate us trying to kill their new friend."

"But he might not be their friend. Remember Chase? Maybe he's just trying to get to us."

"Relax, okay? After dinner I'll suggest we do something. Then we can give him a ride or something and talk to him there."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Caleb sat back in his seat. "Sorry about that. Reid here just thought you looked familiar."

Harry shrugged. "Sorry mate, but I just got here a few days ago."

"Sit down Harry," Kate said, patting the seat next to her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Pogue throw a fry back into the basket. _See how it feels, jerk._ Harry sat down next to her and looked around.

"So," Sarah said, grabbing a menu from the table. "Have you guys ordered?"

"Not yet," Caleb said, playing along. "We just got in and got some apps while we waited for you guys."

"Hmmm…Do you wanna split a burger or something?"

"Sure. Anything for you Kate?"

"Um, sure. I'll take the bbq chicken wrap."

"Harry?"

"I'll have a burger too."

As Caleb went to the bar to place their orders, Sarah turned back towards Tyler and Reid. "So what were you guys up to today?" she asked teasingly, picking up a nacho from the basket.

"Nothing much," Tyler answered. Reid was still glaring angrily at Harry. "Just hung around."

She nodded. "Cool."

"Food's here." Sarah turned around to see Caleb coming through the crowd with their meals. They quickly began eating, more to end the awkward silence then actual hunger. They finished quickly.

"So what are you guys doing after this?" Caleb asked, finishing his drink.

"Nothing really. I was thinking of going to bed early."

"Kate?"

"Same. I'm signed up to help incoming freshmen, so I need all the sleep I can get."

"Seriously?"

Kate laughed. "Hey, it may suck for a day or two, but it looks killer on a college app. And getting brownie points with the deans doesn't hurt either. But if you're looking for someone to hang with, I think Harry's free tonight?"

Harry choked on his burger. "I am?" he asked, coughing.

"You should go. These guys always know where the best parties are. And I'm sure there's one around here. What do you think Caleb?"

He shrugged. "Sounds fine with me. I have an extra seat in my car."

Sarah smiled. "See? You'll have a ton of fun. Guys, just drop him off with us afterwards. He'll be staying in our dorm for the next few days."

Tyler looked up. "You're dorm?"

"Haha, funny. It's not like that. His room assignment turned out screwy and the deans haven't found a place for him to stay yet. So we offered our room."

All the boys looked slightly uncomfortable. "Just don't do anything stupid," Tyler said warningly, eyeing Harry.

"No way. Harry's too sweet to even think of something like that." Kate ruffled his hair. "Right Harry?"

Harry smiled sheepishly, nothing saying anything. _They are pretty hot, but I have enough trouble as is, especially with these guys. _He wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of going with them, but he didn't exactly have a good reason for refusing. _What could I say; that your boyfriends kidnapped and tried to kill me with freaky magic that flies out of their hands? Yes, that sounds completely sane. _

Kate stood up. "Well, I think I'm going to turn in for the night. You coming Sarah?" Giving a quick kiss to Caleb, Sarah joined her. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a lanyard from her pocket and tossed it to Harry. "Here, use this to let yourself in. We'll probably be sleeping by the time you guys get back."

Harry caught it easily, his years of seeker practice coming in handy once again. "No problem," he replied, pocketing the key.

"I'll share Kate's bed tonight, so you can take mine."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, but you don't have to. I'd be more than happy to sleep on the floor or something."

Kate pouted for a moment. "It's no trouble, really. I don't mind sharing with her."

"Alright, if you're sure."

The boys stood and, leaving some crumpled bills on the table followed the girls out to the parking lot. Pogue stalked over to his motorcycle, and Tyler and Reid went over to the truck, leaving only Harry and Caleb with the girls.

Sarah and Caleb were wrapped around each other, talking softly, so Harry stood with Kate.

"You okay Harry? You look upset."

Harry jerked, his deep thought interrupted. "Yeah, I'm fine. My ankle is still hurting a bit."

Kate frowned and rubbed his arm. "I'm still really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. It was an accident."

"I know, but still."

Harry turned and grabbed her shoulders with his hands. "Kate, I'm fine. It's just a little sprain or something. Nothing a healing potion can't fix."

She tilted her head, eyebrows raising. "Healing potion?"

He mentally swore. How the hell was he going to cover that slip? "Um, sorry. My cousin Dudley loved to play this one video game and he always dragged me along to play. I must have played so much it's started to hurt my brain."

She laughed, thankfully buying his explanation. "Ugh. My friend was like that when we were kids. It drove me nuts!"

A loud roar from a motorcycle interrupted her. Pogue drove up to Caleb, sending a glare towards Harry and Kate. He felt her stiffen under Pogue's gaze. "Relax," he whispered, gripped her hand tightly. Caleb and Pogue exchanged a few words, and the motorcycle quickly left, roaring as it started down the street.

"Kate, are you okay?" Harry asked, watching a small tear trickle down the girl's face.

She sniffled, brushing it away. "I'm fine. He doesn't matter anymore."

He laughed bitterly. "You know that isn't true."

"No, I think it is this time."

"Why, found someone new already?"

She smiled softly. "Actually, I think I have." She stood on her tiptoes, and reached up, kissing Harry quickly on the lips.

He was caught off guard, barely having registered it before it stopped.

"Good night Harry," she said softly, before getting into the car. Sarah quickly kissed Caleb goodnight and climbed into the driver's seat.

"See you later Harry!" she called, before driving away.

Caleb waited until the car was out of sight before grabbing Harry and dragging him to the car. Harry, still grinning from the kiss, had no time to react, and could only struggle.

"Hey, what the hell?" he cried, struggling again Caleb's swim-toned grasp. Though extremely fast, Harry was not physically strong, instead relying on speed and stamina, making him no match for the older boy.

Caleb opened the back seat of his car and shoved Harry in next to Reid, before climbing into the front. Finally he had his chance at getting answers.

Starting the car, he turned towards the backseat. "Don't try anything funny this time," he warned. "We won't miss."

Harry stood his ground, eyes locked until Caleb turned back to drive. Only one thought raced through his mind. _Shit. How am I going to get out of this one?_

_*****_**pokes the ***coughcough* **cookie ***coughcough* **button***


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: See? I said I'd be updating relatively soon. I know this chapter is somewhat short-ish compared to others, but I like where it ended. **

**Disclaimer: It's pretty obvious, but I don't own anything here.**

_Wham! _Harry winced as Pogue's fist came in contact with his face. The first blow wasn't that bad, but this was blow six or seven, and it had only gotten worse.

"Just tell us what you're doing here," Caleb said, running a hand over the cool stone interior of their basement crypt. His voice was strained, evidence of his otherwise obvious discomfort with the situation. "Tell us and Pogue will stop."

Harry spit out blood filling his mouth. "You know," he said sarcastically, "I don't think your – I mean, _my _girlfriend would like seeing you treat me like this." It was low, but he didn't care. _That'll wipe that arrogant smirk off his face._

Pogue swore and swung again, the blow catching Harry just under his jaw. "Listen dickhead. Who do you think they care about more? If we come back and say that you left during the party, they won't give it a second thought."

"Yes, they won't miss me at all. That's why Sarah offered me her bed and Kate tongue-wrestled with me in the parking lot."

Pogue's eyes turned black, a large ball of energy forming in his hands. "You'll pay for that you little -"

"Shut up Pogue," Caleb said, pushing the angry guy away from Harry.

"No fucking way. You heard what he said about my girl, how do you know that he won't go after yours too?"

"For one thing, she isn't _your _girl. You broke up with her remember? Second, we have this son of a bitch here, he's nowhere near them. And third, if you kill him he won't be able to tell us why Chase sent him here."

Harry was puzzled. "Who's Chase?" he asked.

Pogue turned around to face him. "Like you don't know you fucking liar. Chase. You know, the moron who sent you here to kill us?"

Harry shrugged. "I've never met anyone named Chase." _Wham! _The blow hit him before he even registered it.

"Stop fucking lying!" Reid said, from the position at his left arm. He hadn't said a word since they had left Nikki's, including when Pogue had told him and Tyler to hold Harry down. Apparently he had hit his breaking point.

"What the fuck was that for?' Harry said, his vision blurring.

"Reid, stop. Give him a chance to say what he wants." Caleb said.

"What's the point? He's only gonna lie to save his ass."

"It doesn't matter."

"But -"

"It doesn't matter."

Harry coughed, spitting out more blood that clogged his mouth. _Definitely went too easy on them last time. This is worth much more then a cut shoulder. Even if it was a severing charm._ "And what makes you think I want to talk?" he said.

Caleb looked over at a fuming Pogue. "Because if you don't I won't tell him to stop next time."

Harry weighed his options. At worst they wouldn't believe him and would beat him up more _(You handled plenty from the Dursleys before)_, and even if they did believe him, what would that accomplish? _Give it a shot, what can it hurt?_ Harry felt a pang of sadness at the Hermione-esque voice. _God I miss her_.

Tyler's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Last chance," he said, looking down at Harry.

Harry sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try us."

"Fine. My name is Harry Potter. I am a wizard at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. My parents were murdered by a evil wizard named Voldemort when I was a baby, and that man has tried to kill me ever since I discovered I was magical when I was eleven. I was fighting him when, through some strange bout of magic that I've never seen before, I was teleported here, where I woke up here in your little clubhouse thing. Happy?"

The Sons were silent, leaving an awkward pause in the air. Harry tried to read Caleb's expression, but the older boy's face looked like it was made of stone.

"No fucking way," Pogue finally said, turning back towards Harry. "You're telling us that you are from a magical world and you magically appeared right here after fighting some bad guy? Do we look like we were born yesterday?" He looked over to Caleb. "I told you he'd try and pull one over on us. Do you actually believe this shit?"

"Give it a rest Pogue. I need time to think." Caleb's words were harsh. He walked over to the other side of the room, leaning against the stone pillar. Taking a breath, he looked straight at Harry. "You're sure that you have no idea how you got here?"

Pogue began to protest, his face rapidly turning red, but Caleb cut him off. "Let him talk."

Harry thought for a moment, recalling the events of the battle. "I can't think of anything. What happened to me isn't like any form of magic I've seen before."

Caleb thought for a moment, before motioning for Reid and Tyler to let go of Harry. "I'm still not completely sure I trust you, you know that right?"

Harry nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Figured it would be something like that." He stood up, rubbing his sore jaw. "So what do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Reid asked from his seat a few feet away.

"Well, I kind of want to get back home. You know, England?"

"What makes you think we can, or even want, to help you?" Pogue said, grinding his feet into the dust.

"Because if you don't I'll tell Kate that you beat the shit out of me. I'm sure she'll love you after that." Pogue ran towards Harry, knocking him to the ground.

"You'll – regret – that – you – little – shit."

Harry braced for another round of punches, the mixed pain from his ankle and face already throbbing with his increased heartbeat. Thankfully they never came.

"Pogue, get off him," Caleb said, pulling him to his feet.

"What the hell Caleb? You're just going to let this bastard walk? Remember what he did to me last time? Remember this?" Pogue pulled his shirt aside, showing a dark, angry welt disappearing into his clothes.

Harry eyes widened when he saw the wound. "No way," he said. "All I used was a simple severing charm, it's barely cuts rope, much less leaves something that bad."

"What do you mean?" Caleb asked.

Harry's mind raced, trying to think of a clear way to explain this. "Yester- the last time we were down here, when you attacked -"

"You mean _you_ attacked _us_," Pogue said bitterly.

"Whatever. During that I casted what we call a severing charm. Usually used for cutting cloth and stuff like that, it can be used as a small weapon to deter your enemies, like I did with Pogue."

"That doesn't look like a simple 'charm'."

"No, it isn't. It's a lot worse."

"Are you sure you didn't use another spell by mistake?"

Harry chuckled to himself. "I don't know about your magic, but you can't 'accidentally' cast the wrong spell. It just doesn't work that way. No, that looks like a Dark spell."

"What do you mean?"

"In the wizarding world, there are normal spells, sometimes called Light spells, and then there is battle magic, commonly called 'Dark' because they require emotion to cast, usually desire to hurt and cause pain. The worst are what we call the Unforgiveables, those specifically require the intent to either absolutely dominate someone's mind, cause mind-breaking amounts of pain, or the desire to completely obliterate someone's life. Use any of those and it'll land you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Not like that's ever stopped the Death Eaters before."

"Azkaban? Death Eaters?"

Harry sighed this was going to be a long night. I'll explain everything as long as you guys promise to do the same. What's with the black eyes and weird energy-ball things? I've never heard of those spells before."

Caleb laughed, "We don't exactly use spells. We call it the Power."


End file.
